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Gerdemann has high hopes for German Tour
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Linus Gerdemann, who held the yellow jersey for a day on this year's Tour de France, is hoping to win this year's Tour of Germany and restore some pride to German cycling, battered by a succession of doping problems.
Having won a stage in this year's Tour de France, the 24-year-old is full of confidence for his home country's event which starts in Saarbrücken on Friday and runs till the following Saturday.
"I have felt good since the end of the Tour and I think I can do something special here," said the T-Mobile rider.
The reputation of cycling in Germany has been badly tarnished since team-mate Patrik Sinkewitz was found to have high levels of testosterone in his blood and German TV stations boycotted their Tour de France coverage.
"All that business affected my performance in the middle of the Tour, it is troublesome of course, but it shows that doping controls work and in the future cycling will be clean again," said Gerdemann.
Gerdemann and his T-Mobile teammates got news Thursday when they learned that title sponsor T-Mobile will continueto support the team until at least 2010.
Compatriot Jan Ullrich, a former Tour de France champion, was sacked by T-Mobile last July after he was linked to a doping scandal in Spain.
Among the favourites to win the eight-day Tour of Germany are Gerdemann, the three Italians, Lampre-Fondital's Damiano Cunego, Saunier Duval-Prodir's Riccardo Ricco and Gerolsteiner's Davide Rebellin, along with the defending champion, CSC's German veteran Jens Voigt.
Among the decisive stages are expected to be a rolling 42.2km team time trial at Bretten this Saturday, a mountaintop finish on the mighty Rettenbachferner peak at Sölden, Austria, next Tuesday, and a 33.1km individual time trial at Fürth next Friday. The race finishes in Hanover after 1292.5km of racing.
Friday, 10th August: Saarbruecken (183.7km)2nd stage - team time trial
Saturday, 11th August: Bretten (42.2km)3rd stage
Sunday, 12th August: Pforzheim - Offenburg (181.8km)4th stage
Monday, 13th August: Singen - Sonthofen (183.8km)5th stage
Tuesday, 14th August: Sonthofen - Soelden (157.6km)6th stage
Wednesday, 15th August: Laengenfeld - Kufstein (175km)7th stage
Thursday, 16th August: Kufstein - Regensburg (192.2km)8th stage - individual time trial
Friday, 17th August: Fuerth (33.1 km)9th stage
Saturday, 18th August: Einbeck - Hanover (143.1 km)Total Distance: 1292.5km
